Teacher Appreciation Day

This week May 5 - May 9 is teacher appreciation week, but today is the official Teacher Appreciation Day. Do you remember your teachers, did you remember your children's teachers? Luckily you have the rest of the week.
I had a few memorable teachers in my life. My fifth grade teacher was a very kind and caring teacher. I had a great English teacher my freshman year of high school. I am looking forward to some great teachers for my children. There are so many times in the world today where only the bad get noticed. Why is that, wouldn't it be better to recognize the best teachers and let them know they are appreciated for teaching, caring and helping our young children grow and learn.
So I say THANK YOU to all my teachers I had throughout the years, they all deserve credit in some way or another without them I wouldn't be the person I am today. Teachers touch our lives everyday. Thank your teachers today.
Check out this Teacher Appreciation site with many different ideas to show you care.

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5th Annual MommyFest

Who's ready for a Party????
Come Join the 5th Annual MommyFest Blog party. Its coming up really soon (better late than never). MommyFest will be May 12 - 16, 2006. It will be a great way to network with other moms and have some fun. You might even win a prize or two while your at it.
You could even hold a contest of your own and get more visits to your blog. Check it out.

Stressed or Balanced

When your life seems out of control and you've got endless demands tugging at you from all directions, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, fatigued - and just plain stressed! Well doesn't everyone feel this way. Is that what life is these days? Okay maybe it's not suppose to be this way. But what can I do about it, I have taken on the job of parenting (you can't send them back) and wife, and to live in this current world and economy you gotta find ways to make money.

Believe it or not, balancing your life does not require massive changes. You don't have to quit your job, abandon your family and escape to a remote retreat in order to feel peaceful and happy. In fact, true balance is something that starts WITHIN YOU first and foremost - no matter what else is happening in your outer life circumstances.

Below you'll find three simple ways to begin building a greater sense of inner peace and harmony: I know we may have heard these before, but sometimes it's good to get reminded of how to cope once in awhile. Atleast take the time to site back relax and read the suggestions (there's 2 minutes of peace right there).

1) Quiet time.

One of the first things we tend to sacrifice when we're busy is our personal time. Instead we devote all of our energy and attention to caring for others, multi-tasking, meeting responsibilities and "being productive." Over time this depletes our energy and we begin to feel more and more burdened by our responsibilities. I would have to agree, I have been run down lately.

To live a more balanced life, quiet time to yourself is CRUCIAL. You may believe that you don't have any time available for yourself, but something amazing happens when you consistently MAKE time; you find yourself feeling happier and more energetic, your focus improves - and you still get plenty done! Just a few minutes spent sitting quietly in meditation or reading a book can do wonders in transforming stress into peace and happiness.

2) Self-care.

Beyond making time for things you enjoy, there are other ways to nurture and love yourself on a daily basis. Getting a full 8 hours of sleep (or as much as you personally need) is a great start, as well as eating nutritious food, exercising daily and speaking kindly to yourself.

Have you ever noticed that when you're really tired or stressed, even the smallest problem can seem like a nightmare? On the other hand, when you're feeling well-rested and centered, you're much better able to handle upsets. Caring for yourself is one sure way to consistently replenish your energy, inner peace and joy - which means you'll have the strength to handle whatever comes your way. This one is a big one for me, I always feel better after a nice shower and I get time to do my hair and makeup, a shave once and awhile is the ultimate.

3) Flexibility.

Did you know that one of the biggest causes of stress is rigid expectations? We all do it from time to time; get a mental picture of how our lives "should be" - and get really annoyed when our outer circumstances don't cooperate! One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is a flexible state of mind. In other words, learn how to detach from unrealistic expectations and go with the flow.

When you have a flexible mind-set, you're able to deal with crises and problems much more easily because you're not working against a preconceived notion of how things "should be". You're able to tap into your creative problem-solving skills and move through challenges without all the drama and frustration. Be like the tree that bends with the breeze - and you're much less likely to break!

These inner changes can make a dramatic difference in your state of well-being, but you may also want to examine your outer life circumstances and see if there are other small changes you can make to help support your inner work.

For example, you might choose to let go of certain obligations that are no longer meaningful or enjoyable to you. Just because you agreed to host weekly meetings for a support group three years ago doesn't mean you have to keep doing it forever - especially if it's become a drain on your time and energy!

Be willing to let go of activities that no longer complement the lifestyle you desire, and you'll create a space for greater fulfillment, joy and peace.

Lets work on this for a month, cause it takes a month to make a habit and I'll update you all on how more balanced I feel.

Rebate Checks

So the questions are being asked what are you going to do with your rebate check?
Starting May 2, some 130 million U.S. families and individuals will be getting tax rebate checks from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The are being sent out by the main (first) fillers SS#- not a half bad system.
The IRS says it began Direct Deposits of Rebate Checks Monday morning, to people whose Social Security Number ends in 00 through 20.
SS ends with 21-75? You'll get your deposit starting Friday May 2nd.
SS ending in 76-99? You'll receive yours starting Friday May 9th.
The stimulus payments will go out through the late spring and summer.

BUT:
How do you complain if your rebate is incorrect?
Your best bet is to check the IRS website. Use their online calculator to figure your rebate. Still feel the check is wrong? Email or call the IRS. But be prepared to wait, if you are trying to get through by phone.

Again after you receive that money, what are you going to do with it?
Will you go shopping?
Some grocery stores are offering extra money if you use it to purchase a "gift card" for that particular store. I received a flier from Jewel today offering me an extra 10% on that gift card, but the minimum amount $300.00. Groceries is something I always need and spend money on anyways.

What other companies will offer deals? Who wants your money the most?

My mother wants to use her check for vacation (how about Disney). I wish!!!

How about putting it away for a rainy day, or maybe use it to make others happy - give big tips, have a dinner party, take your kids, spouse, partner out for the day. Tomorrow April 30, 2008 is Baskin Robins 31cent scoop night, you could take your whole block.
So many ideas and yet still not enough money.

Family Time

My family (husband and children first) are the most important thing to me. Sometimes that means putting them first.

Raising your kids may be a bit difficult at times. Generally speaking it is a wonderful experience to see that your kids are growing. Also, that they are learning new things with each passing day. The love I feel as a parent keeps on growing. I will always have unconditional love for my kids. But raising the kids is not always easy. It is a very emotional relationship that exists between the parents and the kids, but it has a very non-emotional side to it. Raising your kids mean that you have to arrange the amount of money which is needed to afford a life of at least reasonable standard for your kids. It also means that you have to educate them. When it comes to learning at school, not all kids are very fond of it. Many children can be very difficult when it comes to sending them to school. People bear such things as they raise their kids.

Raising your kids means that you earn for your kids, you feed them, you give them proper education, and you give them all the love and care they need. You also have to protect them from the good and bad of society. You have to be there for them. Raising your kids is a wonderful experience and most of the parents agree to this statement. People love to have kids as the children add color to their lives. Children are a very important part of a family.

How can I earn for my kids and still be here for them, I keep going back to this topic as I believe it relates to many out there. As the kids start to get older you start to think about what you are going to do with your life. I don't want my children to see me sitting around, or doing without because I never go back into the working world. We have given up "things" with me staying home, and we have to start thinking about college and such. I have to start thinking about giving back. But what?

I have started doing surveys which has made me some money and I have gotten some useful samples to try and I actually get paid to record my shopping purchases along with getting paid to read emails from inbox dollars and send earnings.

As I continue to look for the best ways to make money online, I will keep you informed.

Adsense

What is Adsense really, how does it work, why are we doing this? Questions I'm sure most of us have asked a time or two.

Adsense is considered as one of the most powerful tools in a website or blog publisher’s arsenal. It enables a person to monetize their sites easily. If used properly, it can generate a very large and healthy income for the publisher. However if you are not using them correctly you are actually leaving a lot of money on the table. Something everyone hates.

Start by writing some quality content articles which are also keyword incorporated. There are a lot of people given the gift of being good with words. Writing comes easy for them. Why not make it work in such a way that you will be earning some extra cash in the process.

There are actually three steps to put into mind before you begin writing your ads and having an effective Adsense.

1. Keyword research. Find some popular subjects, keywords or phrase. Select the ones which you think has more people clicking through. There are actually keyword suggestion tools that some sites are offering to those who are just their Adsense business. One I use is Keyword Research Tool

2. Writing articles. Start writing original content with keywords from the topics that you have achieved in your search. Take note that search engines are taking pride in the quality of their articles and what you will be writing should keep up with their demands.

3. Quality content site. Build a quality content site incorporated with Adsense ads that is targeting the subject and keywords of your articles and websites. This is where all that you’ve done initially will go to and this is also where they will prove their worth to you.

Try to position your ads where surfers are most likely to click on them. According to research, the one place that surfers look first when they visit a certain site is the top left. The reason behind this is not known. Maybe it is because some of the most useful search engine results are at the top of all other rankings. So visitors tend to look in that same place when browsing through other sites.

To really start making money with Adsense, you should have a definite focus on what you want to achieve and how you will go about achieving them. As with any other kind of business venture, time is needed coupled with patience.

Do not just ignore your site and your Adsense once you have finished accomplishing them. Spare some time, even an hour, making adjustments to the Adsense ads on your sites to quickly trigger your Adsense income.

Advertisers have realized the benefits associated having their ads served on targeted websites. Thus increasing the possibility that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product and services. All because of the content and its constant maintenance. As opposed to those who are not using Adsense in their sites, they are given the option of having other people do their content for them, giving them the benefit of having successful and money-generating web sites.

Adsense is all about targeted content, the more targeted your content is, the more target the search engines’ ads will be. There are some web masters and publishers who are focused more on their site contents and how best to maintain them rather than the cash that the ads will generate for them. This is the part where the effectiveness is working its best.

Article Submitter Review

While article submission isn't anything shockingly new to the world of SEO, many people STILL don't do it... and for good reason. It takes so incredibly long to do manually.

I'll admit, I had tried article submission at one point, but after I finally found a few article dircetories to submit my articles to, and then after manually copying and pasting my information into the required textboxes on each submission site, I quickly realized that my time could be better spent doing something else.

Then I came across a free program created by Brad Callen and Bryxen Software, Inc. that allows you to automatically submit your articles to hundreds of article directories with a few mouse clicks. Basically all I had to do was input my article criteria into the software, ONCE! Then, the program would automatically fill in all of the required data at each of the submission websites. Pretty incredible if you ask me.

The only part I didn't understand was why the program is free... but I can't argue with that I suppose.

The software currently contains around 700 article directories, all free to submit your articles to. It is the most straightforward program that we've come across, in that all you need to do is:

1. Input your article details (i.e. title, article body, bio, etc.) into the software

2. Click on the directory you want to submit to

And then the program will automatically fill in your article details. Then, you simply click the submit button and your article is instantly submitted to the directory. Then, you can move to the next directory, go through the list, and by the time you're finished you'll have roughly 700 one way links pointing to your website.

I can't think of an easier way to get links. Of course, if you're going to get links this quickly, it's important to submit different variations of your articles, to make things look more natural to the search engines.

You can do this very easily via Article Submitter when you create your project in the beginning.

The software is constantly being updated and their is an incredible community of users established that all work together to make the software better and better, so you know you're getting great value for the money.

To check out the software, go here:

http://harlyhme94.bryxen7.hop.clickbank.net